Disclaimer : All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
o0o0o0o - Chapter 3 - First Day Back - o0o0o0o
"Alright class, settle down." Mrs. West said, as she walked into the classroom, carrying a large box of painting supplies. "Today, we're going to be working on your painting techniques." She threw the box of paint and supplies onto her desk and then glared at the few people in the back of the room, that had yet to quiet down. "I need one volunteer from each table, to please come up and get your supplies."
Angela quickly stood from her seat next to me and walked up to the front. She returned moments later with a few large glass containers filled with homemade paint, brushes and paper.
"Oh! This is going to be fun!" She exclaimed.
"Yea. Do you know what you're going to paint?" I asked, after everything was placed on the table.
I didn't hear her answer. My ears focused on the snickering going on directly behind me. "Mrs. West?"
"Yes Leah?" Mrs. West answered.
"There's a lump in my blue paint. May I exchange it for a new one?"
"Yes, Dear. Come on up and I'll give you another one." Mrs. West turned and began rummaging through the box of leftover supplies that she had placed on the floor.
A few minutes passed, as I picked up my brush and started painting a pasture, or maybe a cornfield? My design obviously hadn't taken any particular shape yet.
The gasps of the other children around the room, made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Something was going to happen. And unfortunately my instincts were correct.
I felt it before I actually saw it. It felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of water, directly over the back of my head. I stood quickly, knocking my chair out from under me with the force. The loud clatter of the plastic hitting the floor made everyone around the room stop what they were doing and look up.
And then the laughter started.
"Miss. Swan?" The teacher asked, walking up to me.
"I'm sorry Mrs. West. Her bag was on the floor, and I didn't see it. I tripped." Leah said.
She was lying.
I turned to look at her. The smirk was barely noticeable, but I saw it. She pointed down to my bag that was lying on the floor. I didn't put that there! It was right beside my chair.
"Izzy… I'm sure I've told you multiple times before, you cannot just leave your things laying in the middle of the isle. It's dangerous if people cannot see it while walking by. They can trip and hurt themselves." The teacher spat at me. "Go to the office. Use your time there to reflect on what has happened today in this classroom and the disaster it could've caused, if Leah hadn't caught herself."
"What about me?" I whispered. "I have paint all over me."
"Yes well… Have Mr. Lawson, call your parents."
I bent at the waste to grab my bag as Leah bent to meet me half way.
"See you later, Smurf." She whispered, with a grin on her face.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Reaching over, I shoved the loud, annoying clock from the table that sat beside my bed. It slammed hard, and very loudly onto the floor. But… it stopped making that god awful noise. Success!
The dreams were coming on more frequently lately, in vivid detail. I hated it. I was exhausted.
I sat up slowly and shoved the blankets away. First day back to school.
Groaning, I climbed out of bed and grabbed my bag of toiletries. Shower first. Maybe that would make me feel, at least a little bit better.
Rushing through my morning routine, shower, shaving and brushing my teeth, I made it back to my bedroom in under half an hour. With not much time left before Angela arrived, I glanced at my still unpacked bag. "What in the hell am I going to wear?" I said to myself. Moving to the first bag and unzipping it, I grabbed the first pair of jeans at the top of the stack. "Levi's it is." I muttered to myself as I threw them on the bed. Grabbing the red camisole that sat at the top of the pile next to the jeans, completed the outfit. It would have to be good enough.
I quickly got dressed, and with minimal fuss, found my hair dryer. Drying my hair quickly, I let it lay flat and not completely lifeless. "Screw it, Bella. It isn't going to get any better than this." I said to myself as I threw on some lip-gloss, and glanced at myself in the mirror.
Finding my red high tops, and throwing them on, I was officially ready. Or at least, as ready as I was going to get.
Grabbing my bag off the chair, I left the room, closing the door silently behind me.
"Are you ready, Sweetheart?" Mom asked, when she heard me walk into the kitchen. She was on her hands and knees in front of the fridge with a huge bucket of water and a scrub brush.
"Mom? What are you doing?" I asked, smirking.
"Your father put a plate of pasta in here last night, and when I went to get something off of the shelf it knocked the plate over. There's sauce all over the bottom of the fridge." She said, shaking her head.
"Oh. Well… Angela should be here shortly." I said as I reached past her and grabbed an apple off of the shelf.
"I'll be at the diner later on if you need anything. Just stop in." She said as she dropped the scrubber into the bucket and stood. When she turned to look at me , the expression on her face was hard to read.
"You okay?" I asked, as I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, Dear. You're stunning." She said, nodding.
"Um… thanks?" I replied.
"I can see now that we wont be able to keep the boys away." She signed. "I suspect your dad is going to be getting into a lot of arguments with other fathers."
"I highly doubt that mom." I said. "I'm not really interested in getting to know the 'boys' around here. I just want to finish school." I said, as I air quoted boys.
"I know, Sweetie." She said, cutting me off before I had a chance to say anything else.
"Bella? You ready?" Angela, called out as she walked through the front door. I'd have to thank her later for stopping the uncomfortable conversation.
"Um. Yea." I said, as I grabbed my discarded backpack off the chair. "Mom, I have to go. I'll talk to you later?" I asked as I walked over to her and placed a light kiss on her cheek. She shook her head 'yes', and then I turned and moved towards the front door.
Angela was three steps ahead of me, and in no time at all, we both climbed into her idling truck. She glanced at me briefly before she shifted into reverse and backed out of the driveway. Pausing again for another moment, she shifted into drive and headed into the direction of the high school . Joy!
My nerves kicked in with a vengeance as soon as the school became visible. Angela noticed of course and she reached over and patted me on my knee. "It'll be okay, Bella…"
I cut her off before she could continue with her reassurances. "I know Ange."
She parked the truck near the back of the lot and I wasted no time. Climbing out I grabbed my bag and shoved the strap, roughly, over my shoulder. When Angela came around to my side, she patted me lightly on the back. Glancing quickly at her, she gave me a small smile. "Let's get this over with." She said. She nudged me lightly, to motivate me to start moving my feet, and together we started walking towards the main entrance.
"Everyone's staring at you." Angela whispered as she elbowed me lightly in my arm. Tearing my eyes from the pavement in front of me, I glanced around. Sure enough… every set of eyes were on me.
"Yea.. Can see that, Angela." I said, as I picked up the pace slightly. I pushed through the front entrance and made my way quickly to the main office.
The secretary was slouched over some papers licking donut glaze from her fingers. Coughing, to notify her of my presence, she looked up.
"Can I help you?" She asked, after eyeing me, and then Angela.
"Um, yea. I'm supposed to start today. My father, Charlie Swan, registered me last week. I need to pick up my schedule."
She stared at me for a moment longer and then said , "you've changed quite a bit Isabella. I never would've recognized you." Smiling, she turned her attention to the cluster on top of her desk . Rummaging through the madness to, I assume, find my schedule.
I smirked at Angela who was smiling brightly. "Yea. I seem to be getting that a lot lately."
The ruffle of paper lasted a little bit longer than I expected. Then the secretary looked up, excitedly. "Well, here we are." She handed me the brightly colored yellow paper (my schedule) "Have your teachers sign this please." She said as she handed me a small card. "I'm sure you remember your way around, but if you need any assistance, I'm sure that Angela wouldn't mind helping?" She stopped for a moment, taking a much needed breath of air before continuing. "We've notified your teachers that you are to be addressed as Bella Dwyer, per your fathers request." She questioned me silently with her eyes. I'm sure she was trying to get an answer on to why this was requested in the first place. When I didn't respond, she sighed and then continued. "I think that covers just about everything. Have a good day, Dear."
Angela grabbed my arm and pulled me back out into the hallway that was slowly filling with people. She not so lightly snatched the schedule out of my hand and began comparing mine with hers. "We've only got English and Gym together, but we have the same lunch hour." She said, as we began our trek to first period, English.
"It's okay." I replied. "Let's just get this done and over with."
We walked over the threshold into Advanced English, moments later. I quickly made my way to the desk in the front of the room, and handed the teacher the card that I really saw absolutely no sense in. He signed it quickly and then handed it back to me. "You can take the empty desk next to Angela." He said.
I rushed to the spot I was directed too, which just happened to be near the back of the filling classroom. When the final bell rang the teacher, who I now knew was Mr. Banner, clapped his hands loudly to gain the attention of everyone in the room. "Class we have a new student today. Miss Dwyer, would you please stand and introduce yourself."
I sighed, and stood slowly from my desk. I really didn't understand why teachers did this, and I loathed it. But, I complied. "I'm Bella. I just moved here from Jacksonville, and I'm staying with my aunt and uncle. There really isn't much more to know about me." Sighing again, I sat back down.
"Welcome to LaPush, Bella." Mr. Banner said after a short pause. "Class today we'll be reading silently from the play we're currently working on, Macbeth. Please use this time to your advantage." He sat down in his chair, and opened the newspaper that had previously been sitting on his desk.
I opened the book that was sitting on the corner of my desk, and began reading.
Scene 1- Thunder and lightning. Enter three witches. First Witch- When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? Second Witch - When the hurly- burley's done. When the battle's lost and won. Third Witch - That will be ere the set of sun.
A snort drew my attention away from the pages before me, and I looked towards the creator of the noise. Angela! Her shoulders were shaking in silent laughter; her hand was covering her mouth to conceal any noise that was trying to break free. Reaching down into my bag, I pulled out a piece of paper and began writing.
What has you so amused? - Me
I slid the paper onto her desk quickly, and returned my eyes to the book that I was trying, but failing, to read. A few moments later the paper was back on my desk.
You seem to be getting a lot of attention - Angela
What do you mean? - Me
I slid the paper back to her and then sat back in my chair. She scribbled a quick response and then passed it back.
Jared asked who my new friend was. - Angela
My eyes shot up from the paper and darted around the room. I didn't see him anywhere, and I was beginning to think my best friend was losing her mind.
Jared? - Me
I tossed the paper back on her desk and waited for a reply. It came soon after.
Yes, Bella. He's sitting right in front of me! - Angela
I tore my eyes from the paper and zeroed in on, who I now knew was, Jared. He changed, a lot. He looked as if he grew a foot or so, since the last time I had seen him. His muscles were extremely pronounced under the tee-shirt he was wearing. His legs stretched under the seat of the desk directly in front of him. His jaw was clenched shut. I grabbed my pencil and began writing again.
That's Jared? When the hell did he get so… big? - Me
My hand was shaking when I passed the note back to Angela. I hadn't realized how much seeing them would effect me. But instead of past feelings of dread… all I felt now was… rage. "You should stop trying pale-face. No one here respects you. No one here will ever like you. You'll never be worth more than the shit I walked through this morning on my way to school." Jared's constant ribbing about me being a pale-face, lingered in my memory. Longer than I would've liked.
Sighing, I reached for the note that was passed back.
They all look like that now, Bella. Tall. Short hair. Built. You'll see when we get to gym.- Angela
Tearing my eyes from the paper, I looked back over just in time to see Jared drop a note on Angela's desk. She opened it quickly and covered her mouth as another low snort sounded out. And then it hit me…
They're all in the same gym class?- Me
She read the note quickly and then sighed, before she began writing.
Yea. They have the same lunch block, too. - Angela
The weight of her words were dragging me down. I didn't want to face any of them. The past memories of lunch hours reeked havoc on my brain.
Great!- Me
I'm sure she noticed the sarcasm in my written word, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she passed me the paper that Jared had previously passed to her.
Angela, who's your friend?- Jared
I shook my head slowly, and before I could say anything the other piece of paper was tossed over.
He has no clue, Bella - Angela
I know. Lets keep it that way. - Me
After my short response I closed both notes and sent them back over. Angela looked determined as she began writing at a furious pace.
Maybe this is what they need to knock them back a few steps. - Angela
Her response had me confused, and I let her know as much.
What do you mean? - Me
When the paper came sailing back at me, I didn't waste time opening it.
Have you looked at yourself lately? As soon as we stepped out of my truck, all eyes were on you! - Angela
That doesn't mean anything.- Me
A sudden cough at the head of the room, broke my attention as I sent the note back. "Anything you'd like to share with the class?" Mr. Banner said, with his eyebrow raised.
"No Sir." I replied.
He gave a stiff nod, then returned his eyes to the paper he was reading. I sighed and slouched back in my chair. Angela's small hand passed my line of vision, and when it disappeared I picked the note up.
Sure it does - Angela.
I didn't respond. I didn't need too. Grabbing the book that laid open, face down, I began reading again.
The hour continued at a snails pace. When the bell finally rang, I stood and grabbed my bag. Angela gave a short "I'll talk to you at lunch", before she disappeared out of the door. Her next class was on the other side of the building, which didn't give her much time to move in the sea of people that cluttered the hallways.
Pushing one foot in front of the other, I headed towards trig. A hand on my shoulder halted my movement, and I turned to face whoever was stopping me. Jared?!
"Hey." He said, after letting his hand fall to his side.
"Can I help you?" I asked sharply.
"I'm Jared." He said, smiling.
"Impressive…"
"How so?" He asked. His smile was bright. Too bright.
"I thought you looked more like a dick."
I smiled and then turned. Leaving him standing there, staring.
Elated.
That's what I felt as I continued down the hallway, towards my next class.
When I made it too the desk, the teacher showed little interest in me being there. He quickly signed the card and told me to sit in the empty desk in the middle row of the packed classroom. Between…two more huge boys. Shit! I grabbed the card back from him, and advanced to my seat; dropping rather ungracefully as my bag hit the floor with a loud thump.
"Class we have a new student." Mr. Smith said, gaining the attention of the classroom. "Bella, welcome to LaPush. If you have any questions about any of the work, please feel free to ask."
I silently thanked him for not making me introduce myself in front of everyone. It's not like no one really knew about me being here anyways. How many new faces really show up on a small Native American Reservation?
"Please work on page one-fifty-seven in your textbooks." He finished.
I opened the designated page, and wasn't surprised to see that this was something we had already covered in Jacksonville. Smiling slightly, I opened my notebook and began going over the familiar formula's.
"Hey." A voice from beside me broke my concentration.
Glancing over I was met with yet another one of my tormentors.
"Yea?" I asked as I lifted an eyebrow.
"I'm Jake." He said, smiling.
What in the hell was with all of them? I asked myself.
"And?" I dragged out.
"So… you just moved here, huh?" He asked, trying but failing, to start up a conversation.
I smirked. "No! What gave you that idea?" I replied, sarcastically before continuing. "I've lived here my entire life, but never found it necessary to attend school. Today though….today was different. I was bored…had nothing better to do… so said what the fuck… and here I am."
He looked slightly confused, but I turned away from him after my short but satisfactory outburst, effectively dismissing him. Looking back down at my book I began to tackle the next question. A few moments passed when I was interrupted, yet again, by a piece of paper thrown over the problems. Seriously? Will this never end?
Opening the paper like it was diseased, I began to read….
I'm Embry… You're Bella, right? - Embry
I shook my head at the ridiculous amount of attention they all seemed to be throwing my way.
Ugh… Thank you so, so much for reminding me. I almost forgot - Me
I folded it back up ad sent it flying back over to his desk. It only took a moment before the paper was back on my desk.
I like your name- Embry
My mind started filling with the memories of his cruel behavior in our past. "You know Swan's are supposed to be beautiful. The spirits messed up when they created you, Izzy. Jumping off the cliffs would ease all our minds. No one would be upset. Hell, we'd probably have a bon-fire to celebrate."
I stopped myself from thinking about it anymore, as I wrote a quick response.
I'll be sure to let my mother know. - Me
Tossing the paper back over, I watched out of the corner of my eye as he read it and…smirked? What the hell!
The bell rang, and I was slightly embarrassed on how much time had passed without me realizing it. Standing and grabbing my bag, I walked as fast as I could towards the door. I didn't want to be stopped by either of them on my exit. I just wanted today to be over. I made it out of there and to my next class without incident.
Luckily, none of the man-child-boys were there when I entered, and I took the time to relax. When the bell rang, I took my time exiting. I was in no rush. Angela was waiting for me outside of the cafeteria doors when I made it to the end of the corridor.
"Hey." She said when she finally saw me.
"Hey you." I replied back.
We walked quietly through the doors and made our way to the short line. My nerves were still a bit haywire, so I grabbed a bottle of water and an orange. Paying quickly, I followed Angela to a table in the corner of the room, and sat.
"How's it going so far?" She asked, as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"It's going." I replied, rubbing my temple.
She smirked, and after swallowing her next bite of food she said, "You're all anyone is talking about."
"What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up straighter in my chair.
She eyed me for a moment, and when she realized that she just opened a door she couldn't close, she began again. "Jake was in my last class." She put her sandwich back on the table and began picking her fingernails. She didn't look at me when she continued. "He was talking to Paul…about you."
I had heard enough, and my stomach started to knot up. "Ugh, Angela. Can we please talk about something else?"
"Don't you find it weird that they're all taking interest in you, though?" She said, snapping her head up to look at me.
"I wish they didn't." I replied, as I twirled the bottle of water back and forth between my hands. "They're not going to get anywhere with me." I sighed, as I looked back up. "I cant forget what they did to me… how they treated me." And it was the truth. I couldn't stop thinking about it lately.
Her eyes snapped up to look at something directly behind me. "Hush, here they come."
"Ugh." I moaned, not prepared in the least to deal with them. I scrunched up my nose, and waited for the onslaught.
"Hey Angela! Bella!" One of them said excitedly, from behind me.
"Hey Quil." Angela replied. Always being polite.
"We were wondering if you two wanted to hand out sometime." Another one of them said, and I choked on the sip of water I had in my mouth. Were they serious.
Angela glanced at me quick, before responding. "I don't know. We'll get back to you." She kept her eyes locked on mine. I'm almost positive she realized I wasn't going to answer and I definitely was not in the best of moods.
"Well… don't keep us waiting too long." One said jokingly, and I had it.
"In that case… no." I said.
"What?" A few of them said at the same time. Obviously they weren't expecting a response like mine.
Turning in my sea quickly, I glared at all of them. "Maybe we have a language barrier." I looked over at Angela briefly before turning back to the group still standing. "We're not interest in 'hanging out" I replied using air quotes. "Now if you don't mind, Angela and I were in a very intense conversation about the workings of all of your puny brains, and I'd really like to get back too it." I smirked. "Now please… do yourselves a favor. Turn around, and walk away."
Turning back around in my seat, I risked looking at Angela. Her expression was shocked with a hit on amusement, and I couldn't help but smile. The whole situation made me feel… lighter. I could definitely get use to it.
"Oh… Okay… Well… We'll see you later." Embry stuttered out.
After another moment we heard them all walk away. "Bella!" Angela whisper yelled. "That was great!" She said, smiling.
"I know, Ange." I said, laughing. "It felt good."
"You should have seen their faces." She continued. "No one ever turns them down."
I snorted and laughed at that. "Well, I guess I'm happy to be the first… Come on, the bell's about to ring." I said, glancing at the clock on the wall above her head. Standing, and depositing my garbage into the can next to the door, we walked out into the hallway and towards our next class.
The rest of the day flew by pretty quickly, and I was actually in a better mood. IN the back of my head, I knew the guys wouldn't give up in their attentions. But, I wasn't going to cave in. Luckily, none of them were in any of my other classes, so the relief in me was evident.
Sitting in my last class before gym, I began to get nervous again. Angela had mentioned that they were all in this class, and with them constantly trying to make their presence known, I was having a hard time trying to convince myself not to skip and go home; and to just get it over with. When the bell rang, I rose slowly and made my way to the gym.
Walking quietly into the locker room, I rushed to throw on a pair of navy shorts and a white tee-shirt, because of the damn dress code uniform for the class; and grabbed my sneakers out of my backpack. Putting them on quickly, I grabbed the hair tie that was permanently wrapped around my wrist and threw my hair up into a sloppy bun, to get it off the back of my neck. Sweaty hair sticking to the back of your neck was not a feeling I wanted to be subjected too at the moment. Angela met up with me at the door and we made our way out to the bleachers.
As soon as we stepped foot back into the gym, you could hear the chuckling, whispers and whistling of the people already sitting and waiting for instruction. Mr. Miller, shushed them quickly; and Angela and I picked up our pace to our destination.
When we sat, Mr. Miller glanced briefly at everyone and then began. "Today, we'll be having free period. The fields outside are fairly dry and they gym are at your disposal. Please take advantage of your time."
After he was sure that everyone understood what he was saying, he turned and walked back into the direction he came from. His office.
Angela shook her head, and turned to me. "What do you feel like doing, Bella?" She said, as she pointed around the room, at the various things we could play. Basketball. Volleyball. There were a couple of jump ropes in the far corner.
"I don't care, Ange. What do you feel like doing?" I asked backing. Hoping she'd decide. I was game for anything really.
Angela's loud "shit" wasn't what I was expecting though, and when I looked over to see what her issue was, I noticed almost immediately what warranted it. All the man-child-boys from lunch were headed… right…in… our… direction.
"Ugh. Not again." I said, a little louder than I intended.
"We just want to get to know you, Bella." Jared said, as he sat on the bench in front of me.
"Yea. I'm sure." I said. I was becoming agitated. Again.
"Hi… I'm Paul."
I slowly turned right. Towards the direction the voice was coming from. And… wow. I would be lying if I didn't say the man-child-boy was incredibly good looking. His hair was short, like all the others, but was spiked in all different directions, giving him that 'bad boy' look. If I had to guess on how tall he was, I'd say six-four maybe five. I was a little intimidated by his appearance and slightly taken back. But his eyes. His eyes were a deep brown color, and they drew me in almost immediately.
"Paul, this is our friend, Bella."
The sound of Jared's voice snapped me out of my daze and I glared at him. "Friend?" I questioned, between clenched teeth.
"Yea! We've decided that we want to hang out with you, Bella." He said, smiling.
My anger was consuming me and I was trying to hold back. "I don't." I replied.
"Don't what?" Embry asked, as he came to sit by Jared.
And I snapped. "Jesus! You guys cant be that fucking dense! Do I have to spell it out for you?" I asked, exasperated. "I. Do. Not. Want. To. Be. Near. Any. Of. You. So get it through your thick fucking skulls."
They all sat quietly for a moment before Quil spoke up. "You don't have to be such a bitch about it." He looked at his friend for a second before continuing. "We just want to get to know you."
I couldn't help it. I started laughing. The thought of them thinking I was a bitch was slightly amusing. Wanting to end this before it escalated into anything more, I said the first thing that came to mind. "Fine! If I say I'll hang out with you… will you leave me the hell alone the rest of the day?"
They all yelled 'yes'… rather loudly, and shook their heads at each other. After a few smiles thrown my way and a thank-you from one or two of them, they stood and walked towards the doors leading to the outside fields.
"Why would you agree to hang out with them, Bella?" Angela said, glaring at me.
And I said the only thing that I could.
"Because Angela. Paybacks a bitch. And I've just made it my mission, to make their lives, a living hell."